I am fascinated by buildings in Istanbul that stand the test of time, survive and have a chance of being transformed. Thinking that Istanbul is a city that has been in constant influx of immigrants from across the country and the region and has had to transform itself time and again, it is a miracle that some historical buildings have made it to this day.
Sirkeci is a neighbourhood that is a home to some beautiful historical buildings most of which have changed their functions. and Sanasaryan Han is one of them. The building was originally built and owned by an Armenian merchant in the Ottoman Era named Mıgırdiç Sanasaryan. The building dates back to 1895 and its architect was Hovsep Aznavuryan. The building has been a witness to a dispute between the Armenian Patriarchate and Turkish government at the beginning of the 20th century. From 1935 till the early 2000s, it has served as Istanbul Police Department and has been a witness to horrific human rights violations.
The most prominent intellectuals and activists of modern Turkey such as Deniz Gezmiş, Mihri Belli, Aziz Nesin, Nazım Hikmet, Vedat Türkali and Ruhi Su have had to endure immense maltreatments during their custodies in this building. The building has become an ‘icon of suffering’ for decades. Many writers and poets who have had to endure immeasurable suffering during the tortures they experienced in this police station wrote about Sanarasyan Han in their poems and novels.
Atilla İlhan, famous Turkish poet writes about Sanasaryan Han in one of his poems named Tuesday Night in which he says:
‘typewriters in interrogation rooms with blurred windows.
didn’t they tease your freedom in the sansaryan inn
moldy water collects in copper color at a sprout .
maybe a thousand times you think about killing yourself.
it never crosses your mind to die before finishing the song.’
Ruhi Su (1912-1985)
Prominent Turkish muisician Ruhi Su composed Mahsus Mahal for his lover and future wife Sıdıka Umut who was also improsened and tortured iin the Sanasaryan Han just like himself. In the song, he reaches out to her with the following words:
‘My life, my order, my remedy, my soul.
My left, my left side — my faith, my religion.
My white dove.’
This building was recently renovated by the Marriott Group and has been transformed into a luxury hotel. I was one of the first visitors and was eager to see the building after its restoration.
I was very pleased to hear that the originality of the building was preserved. When I entered the building, I noticed the brightness inside the building due to the strong natural light that filled the building. It is beautifully decorated with white colours, İstanbul photos and a beautiful library full of books about Istanbul and Turkey. It has a cosy restaurant. I was told that there will be another restaurant opening on its roof top next year that will allow one to see the historical peninsula.
Sanarasyan Han’s library room can be the perfect refugee for a sip of Turkish coffee far from the madding crowd of Istanbul.
Whenever I visit it, I try to pay a tribute to all the intellectuals who have had to endure immense pain in this building for imagining a better future for our country! Let all of them rest in peace.
